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City of Columbia City 1840 Second Street, PO Box 189, Columbia City, OR 97018 (503) 397-4010 |
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POLICY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
2010-11
1. Protect our community's
quality of life and promote economic development
A. To seek voter approval of a three-year
Police and Street/Storm Water Local Option Levy in order to continue to
maintain basic service levels in the area of police protection and street and
storm water system maintenance.
Rationale: Limited and
shrinking resources and increasing costs are putting a strain on the City's
financial condition and challenging the City's ability to continue to maintain
basic service levels in many areas.
During the 2010-11 Goal Setting Workshop, the City Council identified
police and street/storm water maintenance as critical community services that
require additional funding support.
Target completion date: November 2, 2010
B.
To promote and maintain a safe and desirable living and working
environment while at the same time maintaining and improving the qualify of our
community.
Rationale: The City
Council has adopted City codes (laws) specifically designed to address blight,
nuisances, and to maintain a clean environment for all citizens in our
community. An emphasis will be placed
on code enforcement by administering a fair and unbiased enforcement program to
correct violations through:
Target completion date: June 30, 2011
C. To update the Columbia City Charter.
Rationale: The current
City Charter was adopted in 1972 and amended in 1986, and portions of the
charter are obsolete and need to be updated.
Target completion date: November 1, 2011
D.
To promote the addition of
new and unobtrusive development in the industrial zone and other economic
efforts within Columbia County in the interest of countywide job growth.
Rationale: Promoting job
growth is an essential part of creating a sustainable community.
Target completion date: Ongoing
E.
To continue to work
to mitigate the impacts of industrial uses on the neighboring residential area.
Rationale: The
current heavy industrial use of property has conflicted with the health and
welfare of the residential area east of Highway 30. Every effort should be made to minimize the conflicts.
Target completion date: Ongoing
F. To continue to pursue the acquisition
of easements and/or land donations along the length of McBride Creek, including
the Trestle Beach area, for the development of a linear park and beachfront
park.
Rationale: Acquisition
of the riparian buffer area will further protect the integrity of the natural
stream system, and provide current and future generations with an opportunity
to enjoy the beautiful natural setting it provides.
Target completion date: Ongoing
2. Place
emphasis on street and storm drain maintenance and improvements
A. To complete underground injection
control (UIC) system and drainage swale maintenance services.
Rationale: Due to limited resources, the routine maintenance services
outlined in the City's Storm Water Management Plan for the City's UIC system
and drainage swale systems have been postponed for several years. Periodic routine maintenance is essential to
insure optimum performance of the system.
Target
Date: October 1, 2010.
B. To
obtain rule authorization for the City's UIC system through the Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Rationale: Rule authorization appears to be the most favorable option for
the City to pursue for achieving UIC compliance. However, if natural filtration beneath the City's 34 dry wells is
determined to be inadequate by the DEQ, the City may need to secure a Water
Pollution Control Facility Permit, an option expected to be much more costly
than rule authorization.
Target
Date: June 30, 2011
C. To develop a detailed Right-of-Way and
Street System Inventory.
Rationale: A detailed inventory will help us to better evaluate and manage
the existing conditions and prioritize maintenance and improvement needs.
Target
Date: June 30, 2011
D. To develop an Alignment Plan for the
Sixth Street Improvement Project.
Rationale: Sixth Street serves as a main collector street for the City,
running north and south the full length of the City. Overlaying Sixth Street and constructing half-street improvements
to collector standards is estimated to cost nearly $1 million. Existing improvements coupled with varying
terrain make the alignment of the fully developed street a challenge. Funding for street improvement projects is
extremely limited, and preserving the investment we have in our street system
is critical. An alignment plan is
needed in order to define and prioritize portions of this project.
Target
Date: June 30, 2011
E.
To investigate and
pursue alternative funding opportunities for street maintenance and
improvements.
Rationale: Current resources available for street maintenance
and improvements received from State gasoline tax and street system development
charges fall short of meeting the City's basic street maintenance needs and
providing for necessary street improvements.
The City will continue to pursue grant funding and investigate the
establishment of a street and/or storm water utility fee.
Target completion date: Ongoing
3. Water
system capacity improvements, standards and protection are a high priority
A.
To negotiate a new
and updated wholesale water agreement that includes compensation to Columbia
City for right-of-way use and an equitable and reasonable method of
establishing wholesale water rates.
Rationale: The current
Wholesale Water Agreement with the City of St. Helens was entered into in
1982. Conditions have changed in that
the City of Columbia City uses the wholesale water as a supplementary supply
rather than a primary supply. The
existing agreement provides Columbia City with no compensation for St. Helens'
use of Columbia City right-of-ways and Columbia City has had concerns about the
methodology used by the St. Helens water rate consultant in establishing the
wholesale water rate.
Target completion date: As soon as possible.
B.
To improve the
production capabilities of the City's groundwater well system.
Rationale: The City's
groundwater wells were developed with an expected production capacity in excess
of 300-gallons per minute. During the
summer of 2009 the production levels dropped to 115-gallons per minute. Identifying the cause and restoring and/or
improving the well system's production capabilities are essential.
Target completion date: As soon as possible.
C. To develop a Drinking Water Protection
Plan.
Rationale: Safe drinking water is vital to the health
of citizens in every community. The
1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act require the state conduct Source
Water Assessments for all public water systems. These assessments are designed to provide water systems with the
information they need to develop protection strategies for their groundwater
source. There is a need to go beyond
the traditional emphasis on treatment and protect public drinking water at its
source
Target completion date: December 31, 2010.
D.
To
acquire funding to complete seismic upgrades to the each of the City's
200,000-gallon water reservoirs.
Rationale: The City's two older reservoirs have
significant seismic vulnerabilities as discussed in the City's Hazard
Mitigation Plan. Protecting these
valuable resources is of utmost importance to the City and its citizens.
Target completion date: June 30, 2011
E.
To
acquire property for a future water storage reservoir and well site.
Rationale: Ideally,
the new reservoir would be located at the north end of the City and the
property would provide a potential well site for future use. Siting at the preferred reservoir elevation
is very limited, and it is important that we acquire property well in advance
to insure the availability of a reservoir site when the need arises in the
future.
Target completion date: December 31, 2014